


dawning of the world

by cloverdale



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, H2O: Just Add Water AU, M/M, Mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 06:12:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12811359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloverdale/pseuds/cloverdale
Summary: “We were like gods at the dawning of the world.”— Madeline Miller, The Song of AchillesThey say the harbors of Altea are blessed.No crime, no strange men with illicit motives meet on its shores. Boats are were longer a means of escape. No one dies on the shores of Altea.They say there are lights in the water. Purple, yellow, green, red, blue, pink. They shine at night. They say if you see the lights, you will see magic.People still talk.It has been years since those lights danced in the waters.Some say there lights are gone because one day, they turned and left the world of Altea behind, the world of man behind.They say the lights returned to the sea from which they came, for the lights were children of the oceans.Mermaids, some call them.





	dawning of the world

The sea breeze whipped Lance’s hair.

It still smelled the same here, even half the world away. The sand still sank beneath his toes. Seaweed still caught at his ankles. But the water here was darker, and the seaweed he kicked away was different. He wiggled his toes in the sand, watching the way the surf scored the beach as it retreated into the sea.

Feet waded into the surf beside him. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hunk asked, splashing his feet in the shallow water. He looked down at Lance with warm brown eyes.

“It’s gonna be fine, buddy.” Lance smiled.

Someone ran up behind Hunk, the water spraying Lance’s calves. “This is a once in a lifetime chance. It’s gonna be fun,” Pidge said, streaks of sunscreen smudged on her pale skin. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, her round face splitting open in a wide grin.

“Why would someone like sleeping on a jungly, uninhabited island at night?” Hunk said, kicking at the retreated waves.

“We’ll get to see the stars without light pollution.”

“We’ll be eaten alive by mosquitoes, that’s what.”

Higher up on the beach, the ground crunched to the rhythm of footsteps.  _ “Shiro,” _ hissed a voice. Lance turned to see Keith and Shiro standing high above the water, staring out at the horizon. Keith looked down at the waves and his eyes met Lance’s.

His eyes were as endless as the ocean abyss. They were like magic, as dark as the shining black hair that curled over his collar. Pidge and Hunk were by far the smartest people he’d ever met, but Keith felt like the most intense. There was something hidden in those eyes, those eyes that flashed purple in the light.

Shiro sighed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head. Even in his frustration, Shiro was towering and stately.

“What’s up with them?” Lance asked quietly, turning back to Hunk and Pidge.

Pidge turned, shrugging. “They’ve been arguing all day.”

Lance hummed in vague agreement, chucking his shoes up on the sand. “C’mon,” he said, “let’s have some fun.”

“Lance, this is the Garrison’s only summer biology program,” Hunk said, shrieking as Lance stomped in the water up, spraying his clothes. “You’re not getting away with that.” He reached down and scooped up a massive handful of dripping sand in his large hand, raising it above his head threateningly.

Lance scrambled, away, water splashing as he ran, his laughter echoing up the beach.

 

* * *

 

The sounds of the night echoed through the trees. A full moon glittered high in a star studded sky, casting a white glow on whatever it could reach on the forest floor. Water flowed over river stones in a quiet, slow slow moving stream that reflected the lights of the night.

The stones ground against each other beneath Lance’s feet. Checking if each stone was stable before putting his weight on it, Lance slowly made his way upstream. Behind him, lighter footsteps followed in Lance’s wake, and behind that, a heavier tread—slower, with more hesitant steps.

The trees , Lance turned around, raising his red flashlight to Hunk’s chest. “You alright, man?”

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” Hunk said. “Let’s keep going.”

“We can turn back if you want.”

“It’s okay,” he said, suddenly stiffening. “What was that?” 

Carefully taking a few steps forward, Lance raised his flashlight to the forest. Behind him, a beam of light casted a crimson circle on the forest on the other side.

“Hello?” Lance called, squinting as he tried to peer through the dark.

Leaves crackled. Branches rattled. Lance’s muscle tensed, boots slowly creeping forward. Then—

“Hey, Lance.”

Nearly jumping out of his skin with half scream, Lance took a step back and inhaled a shaky breath. “Keith,” he gasped, relieved and slightly annoyed.

Keith looked past him. “Sorry, Hunk.”

“It’s fine,” Hunk said, smiling warmly.

Keith looked at him, a wry smiled tugging at his lips. “Okay,” he said, taking a step forward.

Still smiling, Keith stepped onto smooth, slick stone on the side of the river, the worm soles of his hiking boots not gripping onto the dewy rocks. The shadow of a smile slid from his face as Keith began to fall, arms scrambling for something to hold onto as he disappeared into the rock. His high pitched scream seemed to echo through the clearing.

“Keith!” Lance exclaimed, stepping forward. Careful not to slip as Keith had, Lance grabbed hold of the rock, peering down the tunnel. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Keith called, peering around at his surroundings. He looked back up at Lance.  “I don’t think I can get up, though.”

Lance cocked an eyebrow. Keith only stared at him. “Okay, then,” he said, looking around for the most painless way down the tunnel.

“Lance,” Hunk asked. “Lance, what are you doing?”

Lance grabbed onto the rock jutting from the top of the slide, and in a moment of impulsiveness one would have expected from Keith, slid down the tunnel like a child down a playground slide.

“Lance,” Pidge yelled as he slid down, her voice echoing in the tunnel around him.

He could heat Hunk mutter, “Who’s idea was it to have a night hike on the first day of camp?”

“What are you doing?” Keith yelled when Lance hit the sandy bottom.

“I came down to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

A high pitch scream echoed around the small room. Lance whipped around, a head of light brown hair whipping Lance in the face as Pidge landed on the tunnel behind him.

Scrambling to his feet, Lance exclaimed, “Why’d you follow me?”

“Pidge,” Hunk called questioningly.

“He might as well come down here as well, now that all of you are here,” Keith grumbled. Lance couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Sighing, Hunk muttered something under his breath before sliding down the tunnel after him. “Woah,” he cried as he tumbled down, quickly getting to his feet and brushing the sand off his pants. 

Keith shook his head, his hair bouncing.

Pidge to to her feet, ducking under the low ceiling. She clicked her flashlight on, peering around the short cavern. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere we shouldn’t be,” Keith said.

“Yes,” Lance said sarcastically, “Because you are Keith Shirogane, brother of Takashi, famous follower of rules.”

“Those were school rules. Those landed me in detention,” Keith said. “This is the Garrison. Commander Holt said not to enter any caves.”

“You fell, down here first.”

“That was an  _ accident _ . You guys all followed me down—”

“To  _ help _ you.”

“I didn’t—”

There was tug at Lance’s sleeve. “Look at this,” Hunk said, shining his flashlight to a corner of the cave. An alcove in the wall was reflecting light, a flat ledge at the bottom dusted with sand.

“Is it glowing?” Pidge asked, squinting.

_ “Glowing?” _ Keith asked incredulously.

“There’s light down there,” Lance said moving towards the archway. The a slate of rock jutted out from the wall, and roughly a foot above that there was another flat slab. To his right, there was only stone, but to his left, the there were more steps, twisting into the volcano. “Stairs,” he said, almost a question. “It’s a staircase.”

“Why the hell is there a staircase built into the inside of a volcano?” questioned Pidge.

“Who knows?”

She followed him through the small doorway, the light from her flashlight reflecting off the smooth walls and casting a red glow over the tunnel.

“Are we really going to follow a staircase into a volcano?” Hunk asked.

“Can’t go the other way,” Keith said. “Although this isn’t exactly safe.”

“Hey,” Lance said, “I’m pulling a leaf out of your book right now.”

“Yeah, because I live the epitome of a safe, responsible life.”

“How is that—”

Keith laughed, a golden sound almost foreign to Lance’s ears. “I’m just messing with you.”

After stumbling down the stairs, Lance held his arm. “Turn your flashlights off.”

The hallway went dark, but ahead of them something glimmered in the darkness.

“What  _ is _ that?” Lance asked.

Jumping up the last couple of stairs, Lance came to a sudden halt when his feet reached sant. The stairway lead up into a cavern as tall as the volcano. Rough stone lined the wall, the night sky glittering through the hole at the top of the volcano.

“Woah,” Lance breathed.

“What is this?” Hunk asked. 

Lance looked back. Keith stood transfixed at the doorway, face pale and eyes wide. “Keith, you okay buddy?”

“Yeah, I’m—that pool leads to the sea.” He pointed at the floor, where a pool lined with black rock sat, filled with water that faintly glowed. The water rippled lightly.

“Tidal rings,” Lance said. “We can get out through us.”

“But how far is the other side?” asked Pidge.

“And why’s the water glowing?” said Hunk.

Lance kneeled loosening the laces on his shoes. 

“Lance, you can’t be serious.” Hunk said.

“Do we have an option?”

Hunk didn’t say anything as he unzipped his jacket and pulled off his socks. Before anyone else could say anything, Lance cranked his arms around and dove head-first into the seawater.

He forced his eyes open, shapes easily decipherable with the light coming from the pool. Kicking his legs and stroking his arms, he propelled himself in the direction he thought the light was, forcing himself to keep going even as his lungs burned and the sea fought against him.

His head broke the surface, and he took in a gasp of air.

The sea churned around him, and Lance bobbled in the waves, pushing his head up to float more than tread.  _ Open sea. _

Using his arm to turn him the other way, he gasped as Mako Island came into view, its volcanic peak towering above him. The full moon shone overhead, and up on the mountainside, lights flickered where their camp was.

Lance took deep breaths, slowing his heart rate as much as he could before disappearing back into the ocean.

 

* * *

 

Lance had been gone for too long. Pidge wondered how long a fifteen-year-old swimmer could hold their breath, then berated herself for never having looked up how long a human could hold their breath, and then worried that a shark was going to eat Lance, knowing the Mako reef was swarming with them, even though she knew a shark had no reason to attack Lance.

A dark shadow formed in the glowing light of the pool. They all started at it intently, holding their breaths.

Lance’s head broke the surface, gasping for breath.

_ “Lance,” _ Hunk sighed in relief, rolling back into a sitting position.

Lance grabbed onto a rock ledge jutting out of the side of the pool, resting his head on his arms. “It opens to the sea,” he breathed through heavy breaths. “I—I inhaled some water.”

Pidge let out a relieved, breathless laugh, gently shaking her head. She reached into the water, grabbing onto one of Lance’s arms and pulling. Following her example, Hunk grabbed his other arm and heaved him into a sitting position on the rock ledge.

“Take a break,” Keith said, waiting carefully from several feet away.

Sitting on the sandy floor, she unlaced her boots, pulling them off her feet and chucking them off to the side of the room. She pulled off her windbreaker and socks, rolling up her sleeves. 

Hunk was sitting watching her from the other side of lance. Pidge shot him a pointed look.

Sighing, he began to unlace his shoes and pull off his outer layers.

Her heart beginning to race, she pulled herself to the edge of the pool and dipped her toes in. She’d never swam in the open ocean before, her only experiences with the ocean involving poking her toes in the waves and then running away when the salt water stung her eyes and made her skin feel sticky. The outdoors didn’t get along with Pidge.

“It’s warm,” Lance said, watching her out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled in a way Pidge assumed was meant to be reassuring, but just looked pained and exhausted.

Smiling back, she carefully pushed herself off the edge. The water was cool, but not unpleasantly so. Testing out her treading water, she gently bobbled in the water for a few seconds. Her breath quickened as she began to sink, her arm desperately reaching for the wall.

“One foot at a time,” Lance advised. Smiling kindly, Pidge nodded, even though she knew she could never learn to properly tread water in a couple of minutes.

Keith was still standing above them. The light of the full moon reflected in his eyes. “I’m—I’m not going down there. I’ll find another way out.”

“There is no other way out, Keith,” Pidge said. “C’mon. Before it gets too late.”

Keith shook his head.

With a light splash, Hunk slid into the pool. “It’s warm,” he said, smiling.

Around them, the water began to bubble.

Straightening, Pidge looked around in confusion as the bubbles tickled her skin. “What’s happening?” she asked. She looked up, blinking as the moon’s blinding glow burned into her eyes. “The  _ moon _ ?”

Lance pushed himself off the wall, easily treading the water with his long limbs. His face was bathed in white light, treading backwards towards Hunk and Pidge. “What the  _ hell _ ?”

The moon passed overhead with a quickness that seemed unnatural, coming into full view. Bubbles made of glowing water began to form from the surface and rise, glowing the moonlight.

Lance reached out a hand and grasped at one, but it passed through his hand, rising towards the sky.

The moonlight reflected on the water until it was too bright to see. “Lance?” she called. “Hunk?”

“What the hell is happening?” Hunk yelled, invisible even though he sounded like he was right next to her.

Pidge jumped in alarm as something splashed in the water next to her. “What was  _ that?” _

Shapes began to form in the brightness as the moon moved away, the bubbles no longer tickling her skin as they stopped forming. The water calmed as the light from the sky faded, the pool returning to the calm it had been, the only movement caused by the sweeping of their arms and the gentle push of the sea.

Lance was still breathing heavily, but Pidge wasn’t sure if it was from the dive or alarm at the water bubbling under the moonlight. “Everyone okay?” he asked.

“What just happened?”

“What the  _ fuck _ .”

“Hunk,” Lance reprimanded.

Pidge squinted at the dark walls that surrounded the pool, but all she could see was smooth rock walls. Someone was missing. “Keith?” she called.

Hunk and Lance fell silent. “Keith?” Lance yelled.  _ “Keith?” _

But he was met with only silence.

Keith had disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> hey! thanks so much for reading.


End file.
